Lansoprazole
A proton pump inhibitor for reflux disease, duodenal, gastric and NSAID-related ulcers, H. pylori eradication and Zollinger-Ellison syndrome.
Drug card
- How it works
- Blocking the stomach's proton pump (H+/K+ ATPase) to stop acid secretion
- Used for
- Gastroesophageal reflux disease and erosive esophagitis
- Duodenal and benign gastric ulcers
- Healing and preventing NSAID-related gastric ulcers
- H. pylori eradication, with antibiotics
- Known for
- C. difficile diarrhea
- Fractures with long-term use
- Low magnesium with long-term use
- Its name
- -prazole means a proton pump inhibitor
Study it as a flashcard, and it comes back before you forget it.
Mechanism of action
How does lansoprazole work?
A substituted benzimidazole prodrug that the acid of the parietal cell converts to its active form, which then makes a disulfide bond with the H+/K+ ATPase near its potassium-binding site and inactivates the pump. It has no anticholinergic or H2-blocking action, and it speeds the clearance of theophylline.
Like other proton pump inhibitors: PPIs are prodrugs. They collect in the acidic canaliculi of gastric parietal cells, where acid turns them into an active sulfenamide that binds the H+/K+ ATPase (the proton pump) through covalent disulfide bonds. This shuts off the last step of acid secretion, basal and stimulated alike, and because the bond is irreversible the effect outlasts the drug's short stay in the blood.
Uses
What is lansoprazole used for?
- Gastroesophageal reflux disease and erosive esophagitis
- Duodenal and benign gastric ulcers
- Healing and preventing NSAID-related gastric ulcers
- H. pylori eradication, with antibiotics
- Zollinger-Ellison syndrome
Side effects
Side effects of lansoprazole
- C. difficile diarrheaKnown forSerious
- Fractures with long-term useKnown forSerious
- Low magnesium with long-term useKnown forSerious
- Diarrhea
- Abdominal pain
- Nausea
- Constipation
- Headache
- Vitamin B12 deficiency after years of use
- Acute interstitial nephritisSerious
Known for marks what an exam expects you to know it for.
Watch for
Cautions and what sets it apart
- Not approved under 1 year of age: studies in juvenile rats showed heart valve thickening.
- It increases theophylline clearance and may raise tacrolimus levels; monitor both.
- Contraindicated with rilpivirine; monitor INR with warfarin.
Remember it
A way to remember it
CLIMB
- C
- C. difficile diarrhea
- L
- Lupus erythematosus, cutaneous or systemic
- I
- Interstitial nephritis
- M
- Magnesium falls (hypomagnesemia)
- B
- B12 deficiency
Five less common but serious PPI risks to remember, alongside fractures with long-term use.
Written for biofideX
Its name
-prazole means proton pump inhibitor
Omeprazole, esomeprazole, lansoprazole and pantoprazole block the H+/K+ ATPase of parietal cells. Aripiprazole, an antipsychotic, ends in -piprazole, which WHO now discourages.
- Every drug name stem
Its class
Proton pump inhibitors
Other proton pump inhibitors with a card:
Easily mixed up with H2 receptor antagonists.
Sources
Checked against
Written for biofideX in plain words, after checking these references:
- Lansoprazole delayed-release capsules: label (DailyMed)
- Lansoprazole (NCI Thesaurus)
- About lansoprazole (NHS)
For learning pharmacology, not for treatment decisions: no doses are given, and a prescriber, pharmacist or the product's own label is the word on any one patient. Spotted a mistake? Tell us and we'll correct it.
Stomach and gut
Lansoprazole is one of 15 drugs practiced together here: their classes, how they work, what they treat and what they're known for.
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